Monday, November 26, 2012

Grown

I'm just now getting a chance to review the school pictures that I purchased for Benett and Ellie. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that they're six weeks old and I hadn't even taken a peek.

I just can't believe how old both B and Elle look! They're not babies any more. I'm not sure when that happened... I'm not sure that I'm fully on board with this grown-up-ness.

Someone needs to tell Elle to slow down in the growing department. She's 18 months younger than B and as you can plainly see, she's just as big as he is. Ugh.

I'm finding myself caught between enjoying the little people at this stage and missing their smallness. Enjoying their new-found skills and silliness. Missing their tiny arms wrapping around my neck and the soft breath on my cheek as they drift off to sleep at night. It's funny how a single picture, like this one, can make a mama so proud and so misty all at once.


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Whipper-snapper

Raising kids, actually dealing with kids in general, can be a difficult thing. I want nothing more than to raise a group a kids who are strong enough and smart enough to do what's right. To be able to swim against the stream, and friends, when necessary.

Yet kids need to do dumb things, sometimes, in order to learn. I can only hope the kids who decided to throw yogurt at my car tonight are learning such a lesson. Not that they got caught... despite my transformation into a ranting old lady, lamenting the state of today's youth at the side of the road... I'm hoping they have decided on their own that they did a dumb thing, a thing that shouldn't be repeated.

I was a whipper-snapper who did dumb things once... heck, even as an adult I would like do-overs from time to time... Not being your best is a crumby feeling. A feeling that makes transforming, learning, an easier thing to do. So I'm hoping tonight there is a repentant kid who has decided that yogurt is for eating, and not for throwing. And for that kid, it seems a little bit easier to say, "that's okay... we all make mistakes... my car needed to be washed anyway."

Friday, November 23, 2012

Luck

Yesterday, I really thought a lot about being thankful... what that means to me and how to try and carry that feeling of gratitude forward in a more prominent way. I didn't spend much time thinking about the luck quotient and how being just plain lucky is something that I'm extremely thankful for.

You see the day started the way most do; nothing out of the ordinary to report. We were excited to see family and have a big Thanksgiving meal. Kids played, adults chatted... it was a beautiful day and all of us spent some time out in the sunshine enjoying the mild weather.

It was time for pie when the day began to take a detour from the ordinary. The big kids came running into the house. Gavin's cousin first. She had an urgent look on her face and sought out her father for a hushed conversation... when she pointed to Gavin, who was rushing into the house. He was holding the side of his head; blood streaming from between his fingers. He wasn't crying. He had a similarly urgent look on his face.

It seemed to be playing out in slow motion. Everything was quiet. He was trying to explain what happened, but I didn't hear him, and I couldn't figure out what the big red thing was under his hand.

That's when slow-motion stopped. Everything got noisy again and I jumped from my chair. Gavin had a big gaping wound on the side of his head. He wasn't crying...

I would have liked to have freaked out... but having a melt-down didn't seem like the thing to do. And Monte's aunt, well she's amazing. She calmly moved Gavin's hand to reveal a sizable wound on his left temple. She applied pressure and guided us to the bathroom to clean up and get a better look under the light.

It seemed to take forever to get to the emergency room. When we finally did, we were ushered right in. The pediatric doctor did an assessment and determined that there was no nerve damage and that the wound would be easy to repair. A few hours and seven stitches later, I was fully aware of the luck quotient.

Gavin was lucky that the tree branch that hit his head didn't make contact an inch to the right... or that he wasn't up in the tree when the branch gave way... or any other number of scenarios didn't come to pass.

Even though I say he was lucky, Gavin has always had a guardian angel watching over him. We know it's more than luck... luck is just an easy word to use as a description.

So, we've been successful in our attempt to carry our gratitude and sense of thankfulness with us. Although our list of things we are thankful for has grown to include luck and guardian angels.


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Abundance


I am indeed thankful for many things. I’ve been blessed to have a great abundance; treasures that take the shape of people… people for whom I care a great deal.

My greatest treasures are my little people. They keep me grounded in love, if not patience. And on a day like today, when I make an effort to really think about what they mean, instead of running through the day doing all of the things that need to be done, I can feel my heart overflowing with gratitude. I need to make a conscious effort to remember this feeling on the days when they are bickering and whining and making such a ruckus that there is no longer a quiet place in this house where I can retreat to for a second of peace (if not quiet).

I am guilty of not appreciating this abundance… recognizing the blessings which have been bestowed upon me and my family, on a daily basis. It takes a special day, one dedicated to giving thanks, in order to see how many gifts we’ve been given. I wish life weren’t too busy for true thanksgiving on the other 364 days throughout the year. But perhaps even if my weary mind is too tired on many nights to thank God for all that I’ve been given, my contented heart is surely giving thanks with every steady beat.


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Double

My kids are generally healthy little people. I'm very thankful for that. I've never had to deal with chronic ear infections... which some of my friends have suffered through with their children time and again. Actually in the ear infection department, we've had two total, between all three kids... until today.

It never really occurred to me that older children can get ear infections too. And that's the case. Poor Gavin has such a sore ear. He actually mentioned it last night, when I went down to check on him, before I turned in for the evening. When he said his ear was sore, I thought that maybe he just laid on it funny... never really giving it much thought, instead chalking it up to the excitement of the night. Perhaps a sugar induced ear ache...

But when he came up stairs in the early morning hours, fighting back the tears, I knew it was something that would require a trip to the doc's office. Yep... a double ear infection. So, in one day, we doubled our nine-year ear infection tally.

It's not really how we wanted to start off our November... but, Murphy's Law always prevails... so we'll just go with it.